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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28912209">The Kindest Way To Say "The End"</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/always_never/pseuds/always_never'>always_never</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Sleepy Bois Inc, Sleepy Boys Inc, Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>2020 L'Manberg Election on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Brother dynamic, Child Neglect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ghostbur, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Manberg Festival on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Not Really Character Death, Philza is a bad dad, Sleepy Bois Inc Angst, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, just read it and find out - Freeform, sleepy bois inc - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:40:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28912209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/always_never/pseuds/always_never</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wilbur practically raised Tommy on his own. It took him a while to realize it, but Wilbur's unfinished business was never fixing L'Manburg, it was making sure his younger brother got the happy ending he deserved.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Technoblade &amp; TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot &amp; Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot &amp; Technoblade, Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>702</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Kindest Way To Say "The End"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>second fic ever. pog. sorry in advance.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy was his entire world.</p><p>He knew he had always been one for dramatics--Techno reminded him of that--but he wasn’t fooling around. Philza was always busy with something, always out training Techno or gathering supplies for them, so Wilbur, at ten years old, was left alone with the baby. He was told they’d be gone for a long time, and that they were trusting him to watch Tommy. He was told how to feed and change him, then they were out the door. He didn’t understand it at first. He didn’t understand how someone could love something so loud. All Tommy did was cry those first few months, aching for his father, and that was something Wilbur could never be. </p><p>The crying soon turned into questions.  Once Tommy started forming words, he simply wouldn’t shut up. He mastered a few key phrases, nearly all of them being questions. “When food?” “What doing?” “Wilby play?”  Of course he began to speak while Philza was on a hunting trip with Techno. It was only ever Wilbur and Tommy, just Tommy and Wilbur, for every single first.</p><p>First steps, first words, first lost tooth, and first song. Sometimes, Wilbur still thought about it. He was only beginning with the guitar at the time, Tommy never too far away from him. He remembered the look in Tommy’s eyes--as if his big brother held the secrets to the world--when he first asked if Wilbur would teach him to play, so he taught him. He laid the guitar in Tommy’s lap, laughing when it was much too big for him, and he showed him how to stretch his arms to reach the strings. He taught him every chord he knew, every scale, and every song. When it was over, tiny hands held onto his and asked if they could have a sleepover that night. He thinks that was when he first realized it, that he loved this boy. That he’d do anything just to see his baby smile. He’d do anything for his brother to be happy, because he was his world.</p><p>The fights started when Philza and Techno came back home from their trip. They’d been gone for nearly four years--A trip to a fortress in another realm, he was told--, returning with scars and valuables. They didn’t fight over the wounds or the treasures, but the way Tommy hid behind Wilbur. The way Tommy tugged Wilbur to ear level and whispered the words that broke his heart. “Who are they?” Tommy had whispered much too loudly. Wilbur didn’t have the heart to say the truth, to tell his five year old that he was the only family who wanted to stay. Philza didn’t like that. After Wilbur put Tommy to bed--He was the only one Tommy would let tuck him in--Philza made sure to tell him. Wilbur kept his eyes on the wall behind Philza while he was scolded for taking his father’s place, he barely saw the rage on his father’s face behind all his tears. “You were never there!” He didn’t yell. “Did you ever think about what it was like for me? How it felt to lose my childhood to be the parent you weren’t? Do you even know how old we are now?” He didn’t ask. “Fourteen and five. You’d know if you were ever home.” He didn’t say. “If you hurt that boy again I’ll never forgive you, I swear on that.” He kept his promises to himself. He stayed silent until Philza sent him to bed. He slept in Tommy’s room that night.</p><p>He was outside with Techno and Tommy the day the neighbors moved in. It was April, a few days after Tommy had turned seven. Now, their house was hidden away from the world, about 15 minutes deep in the woods, so it was quite the surprise to see a boy around Tommy’s age dragging a younger teen by the hand with him. Tommy had stopped what he was doing and introduced himself, despite Techno’s yelling for him to come back.</p><p>That was the day they met Tubbo and Schlatt. Wilbur and Schlatt were good friends, but not nearly as close as Tubbo and Tommy. ”His name’s actually Toby,” Schlatt made sure to say. “I gave him the nickname when I was little and it just stuck.” The two kids were practically magnets with the way they always seemed to find each other. Tubbo would frequent their house practically every day, even developing an accent to match Tommy’s. Tubbo practically lived with them, which made the transition between households much easier. They were too young to understand that Tubbo was abandoned at their doorstep, but they were old enough to know it meant they had another brother. Wilbur was old enough to know it meant he had another kid to raise.</p><p>Techno moved out when Wilbur was 18. Philza couldn’t just let him go, so he followed him to the arctic, leaving Wilbur--huge surprise--to take care of the kids. Wilbur knew better this time. He had the kids write to Philza whenever they could, even if Will ignored every letter addressed to him. He made sure this time they’d know their father, even if Will denounced him as his own. He spent his free time looking at new lands fit to raise his boys.</p><p>Wilbur was 20 when they moved to the SMP. They were hopeful this time, a fresh start for the three of them. Wilbur remembered the way Tommy ran around, pretending sticks were swords, while Wilbur moved their things into the house he built. He had old photos stored in a shoe box under his bed, instead hanging photos of what mattered on the walls. Tommy’s first steps, Tommy and Tubbo playing piano, Tommy and Tubbo playing outside, and a family photo of the three of them. He loved his boys more than anything, even if he had trouble speaking it. He didn’t need to say it for the boys to know it.</p><p>Tommy was begging to move out with Tubbo when they turned 16, so Wilbur let them. It wasn’t a big change, they practically lived next door. Will could see them from his window, they had each other’s keys, and he could give the boys their space without losing them completely. He helped them set up, let Tubbo take a photo of the three of them for their walls, then they were off. Wilbur didn’t cry until he was alone. They weren’t sad tears, just the tears you get when you see your kids grow up. He opened the shoebox that night, running his thumb over a picture of all of them. Philza, Techno, Tommy, Tubbo, and himself. For the first time in years, he let himself think of them. “Is it too late to write?”</p><p>War wasn’t kind. He did his best to keep his kids, his babies, out of things, but they always wormed their way back in. It was foolish to let them join him in battle. He should’ve known he was in over his head the moment he saw his little brothers in their uniforms. He should’ve known they were too young for war when Tubbo asked him to help button his top. He should’ve known they were still kids. He lost himself in the fighting, and he didn’t find himself until they all lost their first lives. He remembered running to protect them in the ambush, but he knew he was too late.</p><p>The duel took Tommy’s second life. Tommy’s heart had always been much too big for his chest. The kid couldn’t pull the trigger if he wanted too, so he aimed for the skies. He watched in slow motion as his brother’s mercy was met with an arrow through his chest. He watched the shock set into his eyes when he realized he was going to die. He’d never felt so helpless. He’d rather die than let someone hurt Tommy again. </p><p>Schlatt came back, and Wilbur thought he had a lot of nerve to pretend he didn’t remember them. Tubbo and Tommy didn’t recognize him, so Wilbur kept his mouth shut. He knew Schlatt saw his glares. He knew he saw the way Wilbur refused to be alone with him. The moment Schlatt recognized Wilbur was permanently etched into his brain. It was the day he announced he’d be running for president. After the announcements of Wilbur’s running mates, Schlatt had pulled him aside. “Thanks for taking the kid,” Schlatt started, his breath smelling of alcohol. “But you’re no longer needed. You can drop him off after I win.” </p><p>He did end up winning, but Wilbur would’ve never handed his brother, not after everything. That’s what made his exile hurt so much worse. </p><p>Wilbur remembered trying to soothe Tommy. He held him close as he tried to tell him their banishment wouldn’t last forever. All of his words--all of his promises--were met with nothing. Tommy kept his head down their entire trip, and he kept it down as they made their new home. That night, Tommy grabbed his hand and asked if they could have a sleepover. He held him close the entire night, rubbing circles into his back as he watched him rest. Wilbur didn’t sleep, he too focused on making sure his baby was okay.</p><p>He could feel himself slipping again, he kept himself awake at night wondering how he could get revenge. He wasn’t making sense when he spoke, Tommy made sure he knew that. His rambles about L’Manburg and justice plagued his mind. Wilbur knew he wasn’t in the right, he knew he was making things worse, but he couldn’t ignore the bitterness. Tommy stayed by his side for all of it, wishing for his big brother to be okay again.</p><p>The L’Manburg festival was coming rather quickly. He sent Tommy out to go fetch supplies to get enough time to write a letter undisturbed. He never imagined it would work, not until he saw Techno in person for the first time in years. Wilbur immediately gave Techno his tasks, not bothering to play family. Will hadn’t taken time to be family in a while. Techno didn’t seem to mind, even if Tommy followed him like a lost puppy, begging to catch up.</p><p>Wilbur was spiraling. He barely watched as Tubbo was locked down and held at gunpoint. He barely cared that he had to keep Tommy from running after him. He felt himself smile when the first rocket went off. He couldn’t process it, Tubbo only having one life left. He couldn’t see Tubbo as his brother, all he could see was a traitor. He let Tommy fight Techno in the pit, in fact, he encouraged it. The damn kid needed to be kicked down a few times anyways. What was a world without suffering?</p><p>He rigged the TNT. He let the kids play their game of heroes. He let them have their fun in taking down Schlatt. He let them have their little election. When Wilbur was done babysitting, he snuck away from the party, and he found himself in his button room. This place wasn’t what he fought for. This wasn’t his L’Manburg. This wasn’t his world. He had forgotten why he kept going to begin with, and he wouldn’t ever forgive this God forsaken country for that. His fingers brushed over the button, his heart pounding out of his chest.<br/>“What are you doing?”</p><p>Wilbur held his breath, turning to face the one person he never wanted to see again. Philza seemed.. Different. His age had definitely gotten to him, but it wasn’t just that. He looked scared. He looked scared of Wilbur. Could you imagine that? Fearing the person you abandoned? He spoke with Philza, but he knew he wouldn’t remember a single word coming out of his mouth. He was too focused on the single button resting on the wall. Philza tried to move in to stop him, but it was too late. The earth rumbled around them from the explosions.</p><p>After the ringing in his ears went away, Wilbur was faced with reality. The explosions tore out the wall of his room. Everyone could see him. Everyone feared him. Wilbur laughed as he scanned their faces, laughed as they learned what he was capable of. He laughed and laughed until he finally saw it. Tommy stood there, tears in his eyes, trembling at the sight of his home, of his brother. It made Wilbur remember why he did all of this in the first place. His brother. His baby. His world. “Philza,” Wilbur choked out. “Philza, I need you to kill me.”<br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/>When Wilbur returned as a ghost, he wasn’t sure what his unfinished business was. He couldn’t remember anything sad happening. He logged down all of his memories, each of them holding a special place in him. He knew simple things, like how his father taught him music, how he’d play fight with Techno, and how he met Tubbo for the first time. Of course, he remembered creating L’Manburg, and he certainly remembered winning the election, but those weren’t his favorite memories. That spot belonged to Tommy, his loud baby brother. He often found himself following Tommy around, doing his best to take care of him. After all, Tommy was his world.</p><p>He didn’t understand why Tommy couldn’t return to New L’Manburg. He didn’t understand why Tommy was so scared of Dream, or why he’d always hesitate in blowing up his stuff. What he understood was how upset Tommy was. Each time he heard his brother cry he felt himself grow weak. He wanted to hold him, to tell him things would be okay. He wanted to grab his hand and ask if he wanted to have a sleepover. He wanted to do so much for him, but he was losing strength. The last night he spent with Tommy, he did his best to stay with him while he slept, but he was gone before morning.</p><p>When Wilbur returned for the last time, he finally realized what his unfinished business was.</p><p>The fight against Dream was over, they’d won. Tommy had his disks. Dream was in prison. They got their happy ending. </p><p>Wilbur followed his brothers to their bench. He let Tubbo listen to music while he teased Tommy. He realized he had done it, he got his closure. His closure laid within Tommy’s smile. His brother. His everything. The child he raised. The kid he’d do anything for, the baby who had him wrapped around his finger from the first time he said his name. Tommy was his world, and his world was finally okay.</p><p>Goodbyes were always hard. He did his best to make things easy. He ruffled his brother’s hair one last time, leaning down to his eye level with a smile. “I’m so proud of you, Tommy.”</p><p>His world was happy, and that’s all that mattered. It was all he cared about as he found himself fading away into peace.</p><p>.<br/>.<br/>.</p><p>“I’ll see you soon, Will.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>holy shit. i got a bit emotion while writing this, but i also got really into it. i crave more Big Brother Wilbur fics.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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